Breadline Britain + Local government | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/society/series/breadline-britain+localgovernment
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Welfare cuts: when all else fails, it's charity workers who pay the billshttps://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2012/aug/30/welfare-cuts-when-charity-workers-pick-up-thebill
These days it's not unusual to meet the cost of food and lodgings for vulnerable clients yourself, says frontline homeless charity worker Juli Thompson<p><strong>Yesterday I published </strong><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2012/aug/29/big-society-charity-staff-buy-lunch-for-hungry-children" title=""><strong>a post about a children's charity which was forced to set up its own mini-foodbank</strong></a><strong> to feed the homeless children for whom it ran a Summer playscheme. Several readers contacted me to say that in the era of austerity and cuts, such gestures by frontline workers were not unusual. Here's another example.</strong></p><p>Earlier this year, Juli Thompson got a call from a housing association. Could she go and see a young woman living in a privately-rented flat nearby? There'd been a "concern" reported to them but there was not really much they could do over the weekend. So Juli popped round. The door was answered by a young woman, eight months pregnant. The flat had no bed or cooker, and the Mum-to-be - let's call her Frankie - had been living on cold baked beans.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2012/aug/30/welfare-cuts-when-charity-workers-pick-up-thebill">Continue reading...</a>SocietyPublic sector cutsPoliticsPovertySocial exclusionLocal governmentCharitiesVoluntary sectorHomelessnessHousingThu, 30 Aug 2012 10:21:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2012/aug/30/welfare-cuts-when-charity-workers-pick-up-thebillPatrick Butler2012-08-30T10:21:02ZBig Society cuts: who pays for lunch, when the State does a runner?https://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2012/aug/29/big-society-charity-staff-buy-lunch-for-hungry-children
Charity workers operating a summer playscheme realised the only way to prevent the homeless children they looked after from going hungry was to dip into their own wallets<p>Some weeks ago, the staff at a small charity in Newcastle-upon-Tyne realised that a 10% cut in their council grant meant they could no longer afford to offer traditional holiday activities to the 60 or so children of homeless families for whom they provide a summer play scheme.</p><p>So the charity improvised. Out went the visits to the seaside or the City farm; in came hand-made Jubilee or Olympic-themed activities in the park that cost practically nothing. Not quite so much of a treat, maybe, but still fun.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2012/aug/29/big-society-charity-staff-buy-lunch-for-hungry-children">Continue reading...</a>Public sector cutsSocietyPoliticsCharitiesVoluntary sectorImmigration and asylumLocal governmentCommunitiesPovertySocial exclusionWed, 29 Aug 2012 09:44:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2012/aug/29/big-society-charity-staff-buy-lunch-for-hungry-childrenPhotograph: AlamyBaked beans: a staple of the Children North East summer play scheme menu Photograph: AlamyPhotograph: AlamyBaked beans: a staple of the Children North East summer play scheme menu Photograph: AlamyPatrick Butler2012-08-29T09:44:00ZBreadline Britain: councils fund food banks to plug holes in welfare statehttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/aug/21/councils-invest-food-banks-welfare-cuts
Local authorities asking 'big society' to deliver crisis aid to vulnerable people after social fund budget is cut next April<p>Local authorities are preparing to invest in charity-run food banks to cope with an expected deluge in demand for crisis help from low income families hit by welfare cuts, raising the spectre of depression-era US "breadlines".</p><p>Cuts next year to <a href="http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/technical-guidance/sb16-a-guide-to-the-social/" title="">the social fund</a>, which provides emergency aid to vulnerable people, mean that from April 2013 many councils will no longer be able to provide cash help to applicants. Instead they will offer "in kind" support such as referring clients to food banks and issuing electronic food vouchers.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/aug/21/councils-invest-food-banks-welfare-cuts">Continue reading...</a>PovertyBenefitsSocietyPublic financePublic sector cutsPublic services policyLocal governmentCharitiesVoluntary sectorWelfareLocal politicsPoliticsUK newsFood povertyTue, 21 Aug 2012 17:07:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/aug/21/councils-invest-food-banks-welfare-cutsPhotograph: Christopher Thomond/GuardianA Coventry Central Food Bank distribution centre at the Mosaic Church in Hillfields, Coventry. The food bank is run by local churches with help from the Trussell Trust. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the GuardianPhotograph: Christopher Thomond/GuardianA Coventry Central Food Bank distribution centre at the Mosaic Church in Hillfields, Coventry. The food bank is run by local churches with help from the Trussell Trust. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the GuardianPatrick Butler, social policy editor2012-08-21T17:07:00ZFood banks: Lambeth holds its breath, and its nosehttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/aug/21/food-banks-lambeth-council
South London council says food banks don't tackle underlying causes of poverty but has no choice left open but to use them<br /><br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/datablog/2012/jul/12/food-banks-uk-directory-guardian-readers" title="">• Mapped: the UK's food banks</a><p>The project leader for <a href="http://norwood.foodbank.org.uk/" title="">Brixton and Norwood food bank</a>, Elizabeth Mayton, admits her church-led charity faces a dilemma. Should it accept funding from its local council to help it grow to meet rising demand for help from hungry, low-income local families?</p><p>On the plus side, the extra money means it can open its doors more often and help more people in need, . Her charity's mission is to feed the hungry, encapsulated in a passage from the bible, Matthew 25:35: "I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink."</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/aug/21/food-banks-lambeth-council">Continue reading...</a>LondonUK newsPovertySocietySocial exclusionVoluntary sectorWelfarePoliticsLocal politicsLocal governmentBenefitsFood povertyTue, 21 Aug 2012 17:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/aug/21/food-banks-lambeth-councilPhotograph: Martin Godwin/GuardianUS researchers claim food banks are inefficient, stigmatising and don't address underlying causes of poverty but that once welfare systems use them it is impossible to stop. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the GuardianPhotograph: Martin Godwin/GuardianUS researchers claim food banks are inefficient, stigmatising and don't address underlying causes of poverty but that once welfare systems use them it is impossible to stop. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the GuardianPatrick Butler, social policy editor2012-08-21T17:00:01ZFood banks: we will help as many people in need as we canhttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/aug/21/food-banks-charity-maidenhead
Foodshare charity in Maidenhead welcomes council investment as number referred for help rises fourfold<p>For food bank volunteer Tom O'Kane, there's nothing political about charities running emergency food assistance. It's simply about helping people in need: "Local people helping people locally."</p><p>O'Kane is an unpaid director of the <a href="http://www.openkitchen.org.uk/foodshare.html" title="">Foodshare project</a>, a wing of the multifaith charity Open Kitchen, based in Maidenhead, Berkshire. It has carried out weekly soup runs for homeless people for years, but began providing food parcels to people referred to them by the local Citizen's Advice bureau nine months ago. Then they were helping 10 families a week; now its 40.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/aug/21/food-banks-charity-maidenhead">Continue reading...</a>PovertyCharitiesBenefitsSocietyVoluntary sectorSocial exclusionLocal governmentWelfarePoliticsCredit unionsMoneyUK newsFood povertyTue, 21 Aug 2012 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/aug/21/food-banks-charity-maidenheadPhotograph: Frantzesco KangarisTom O'Kane at Foodshare, a food bank run by a charity called Open Kitchen, in Maidenhead. Photograph: Frantzesco KangarisPhotograph: Frantzesco KangarisTom O'Kane at Foodshare, a food bank run by a charity called Open Kitchen, in Maidenhead. Photograph: Frantzesco KangarisPatrick Butler, social policy editor2012-08-21T17:00:00Z